VaHigherEd.com

The strategic plan under which Virginia’s Community Colleges have been operating since 2003 is called Dateline 2009.  As suggested by its name, the plan’s six-year window is approaching an end.  You can see the progress that has been made on it by visiting this dashboard.

As you can read in this VCCS news release the process is beginning for establishing the next strategic plan:

A group of VCCS officials, led by Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the VCCS, [is conducting] a series of community discussions across Virginia to understand how the colleges can improve the service they provide to students, families and businesses.  A dedicated email address, ideas@vccs.edu, is also being launched to collect comments.

…The regional meetings will include business, community and elected leaders along with economic development officials, students and other stakeholders. 

The email address mentioned above is open to everyone both inside and outside of Virginia’s Community Colleges.  It’s an effort to ensure that no good ideas are left behind for a network of colleges that serve more than 360,000 people across Virginia each year.

So the question is what can your community college do, or do better, to contribute to your success and to that of the larger community?

Posted by Jeff Kraus

My colleague, Ellen Davenport, did a great job in this post of summing up what state leaders have done with the Virginia Higher Education bond bill and what it means for Virginia’s Community Colleges:

There are 25 projects included for Virginia’s community colleges.  The total value of the projects is estimated at $240.7 million. Community colleges received 23.8% of the total capital outlay funding provided in the bill. 

I wanted to add to it by sharing with you some of the news coverage the legislation is getting in media across Virginia (click on the publication’s name to follow a link to the story):

Lynchburg News & Advance:

Central Virginia Training Center in Madison Heights received $43 million for safety improvements and planning for the future in a statewide bond package approved Wednesday by the General Assembly.

Danville Register & Bee:

The referendum will fund about 75 projects at colleges, universities and education centers across the state, including projects at Longwood University, Danville Community College, Patrick Henry Community College and Southside Community College.

 The (Fredericksburg) Free Lance-Star:

Those projects include $18.4 million to construct the Dahlgren campus of the University of Mary Washington, $37 million to construct an information and technology convergence center at UMW, and $25.8 million for an academic services building at Germanna Community College.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch:

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College: $10.8 million to renovate its downtown facility.

John Tyler Community College: $1.6 million for library renovations at the Chester campus.

 The Franklin News Post:

The bond package includes projects for two community colleges serving Franklin County.  It contains $22.7 million for a new science and technology building at Virginia Western Community College.  Patrick Henry Community College will receive $8.7 million for a new motorsports workforce development center.

The Virginian-Pilot:

Tidewater Community College will get $36.9 million for a new learning resources building on its Virginia Beach campus and $20.6 million for a new academic building on its Chesapeake campus.

The Washington Post:

Most of the money will be spent on projects for community colleges and universities, including George Mason University in Fairfax County and the Northern Virginia Community College system. An additional $1 billion will be borrowed to spend on planning for another 25 projects.

Posted by Jeff Kraus

During Special Session I of the General Assembly yesterday, the General Assembly quickly approved SB 5001/HB 5001 which set out planning and funding for capital projects encompassing higher education, state parks, mental health facilities, and state prisons.  The capital package was not finished in time for the adjournment of the regular General Assembly session, and new legislation was introduced and conferees appointed on March 13.  The capital package was kept confidential until it was unveiled yesterday in a briefing to the members of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.  After the General Assembly concluded the reconvened or “veto” session to finish up the governor’s amendments to various pieces of legislation and to the budget bill (HB 30), the General Assembly went into Special Session I to consider the  legislation.  The Governor has 30 days to sign the bill, but it is unlikely that further changes will be made to the bill.

There are 25 projects included for Virginia’s community colleges.  The total value of the projects is estimated at $240.7 million. Community colleges received 23.8% of the total capital outlay funding provided in the bill. 

Posted by Ellen Davenport

Special Session II of the General Assembly will be convened by the Governor to address transportation. 

Governor Tim Kaine released today his amendments to legislation passed by the General Assembly during the 2008 session, including amendments to the 2008-2010 budget.   A summary of Kaine’s amendments are contained in this press release.  There were 41 budget amendments, including some exchange between general funds and the Virginia College Building Authority for VCCS projects, and language clarifying the salary differential for Northern Virginia Community College Faculty.

Amendments must be approved by a majority of each house of the General Assembly.  The General Assembly comes back to consider the Governor’s amendments on April 23.

Posted by Ellen Davenport

Governor Timothy Kaine signed omnibus mental health bills in a special ceremony Wednesday, representing a renewed focus on - and significant investments in - the mental health system in the Commonwealth after last year’s tragedy at Virginia Tech.

“Working with members of the General Assembly, we will make significant investments in our mental health system and the bills before me today will establish standards for the system and increase accountability,” the Governor said.

The bills will make it easier for Virginians to receive treatment for mental health issues, allow more information sharing among providers, require closer monitoring of people in community based treatment and expand criteria under which a mentally ill person can be barred from buying guns, according to the Washington Post today.

Some of the bills (and some already signed by the Governor) specify additional planning and procedures for higher education institutions to prevent future tragedies. Virginia’s Community Colleges got a head start on emergency preparedness with a task force on emergency preparedness that published a report in January.

The General Assembly adjourned Thursday night just after 11 p.m. after approving a two-year, $77 million spending plan, just a few days after its scheduled adjournment date. You can find details of the final conference report here (HB29 for current year; HB30 for 2008-2010 biennium).

But the bond package including construction projects for Virginia’s colleges and universities was not part of the final agreement — the two previous bond bills were left to die, and new proposals were submitted in a special session which started yesterday but is continued to April 23, 2008 — also the new date of the reconvened session. The new bills are SB5001 and HB5001. Conferees were appointed to work out the differences in the bills after each house approved its own version, amended the version of the other house and then rejected the changes. Conferees who will be working on the bond bills include:

• Delegate Lacey Putney
• Delegate Kirk Cox
• Delegate Clarke Hogan
• Delegate Joannou; and
• Senator Charles Colgan
• Senator Henry Marsh
• Senator Ken Stolle
• Senator Emmett Hangar
• Senator John Watkins

The April 23 date for the reconvened session represents a one week delay over the original schedule. Left up in the air is when — and whether —  a potential reconvened session might take place on the transportation issue.

Posted by Susan Hayden

 The Associated Press reports that an accord was reached shortly after noon today by the General Assembly’s budget conferees on the FY 08 “caboose” budget bill and the 2008-2010 biennial budget bill.     

Yesterday, Speaker of the House Bill Howell issued a press release announcing that he was pleased with the progress that the conferees were making, and his strong interest in having them finish up their work this week. 

A procedural resolution was adopted by the House and Senate on March 11, readjusting the budget and General Assembly deadlines, after it was clear that the General Assembly had been brought back in to Richmond on March 11 without a budget bill to consider.   The resolution changed the budget deadline to midnight, March 12 and the end of the General Assembly to Thursday, March 13.  The reconvened or “veto” session has been delayed a week,  from April 16 to April 23.

Both Houses are slated to vote on the budget bills late tomorrow afternoon. 

Posted by Ellen Davenport

The members of the  General Assembly chosen to be conferees on HB29/ SB 29 (the “caboose” bill for the year ending June 30, 2008) and HB30 /SB 30 (the biennial budget bill for the upcoming fiscal years of 2009 and 2010)  still have not reached agreement on either budget.  Their deadline for reaching accord had been midnight on Tuesday, March 4.  Yesterday, each set of budget conferees held their own press conference–the House Appropriations Conferees at 10:45 a.m. and the Senate Finance Committee conferees at 3:30–to announce that they hadn’t reached agreement and that the areas of difference centered around:

• raises for state employees and teachers,
• the methodology for reimbursing localities through the Standards of Quality formula (which has recently been “rebenchmarked”),
• funding for Governor Kaine’s signature initiative for pre-school for 4-year olds,
• increasing Medicaid waivers for mentally retarded individuals, and
• differences in philosophy in higher education with respect to caps on tuition increases, funding for “base budget adequacy,” and the ability of higher education institutions to hold on to interest earnings.

Delaying the negotiations between the two sides even more was last week’s news of a Supreme Court decision which overturned and negated the ability of Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia regional transportation authorities to enact taxes and fees as allowed under legislation passed during the 2007 General Assembly session.  The new taxes and fees had taken effect in Northern Virginia on Jan. 1 and were scheduled to be levied in Hampton Roads later this spring.  In addition to sending the General Assembly back to the drawing board to solve the state’s transportation problems, the decision will bring back issues of how much state general fund money will be required to be set aside during the budget conferees’ deliberations. 

House budget conferees are Delegates Lacey Putney, Phillip Hamilton, Kirk Cox, Johnny Joannou, Beverly Sherwood, and Clarke Hogan.  Senate budget conferees are Senators Charles Colgan, Edward Houck, Janet Howell, Richard Saslaw, Walter Stosch, and William Wampler.  In addition to the differences outlined by the budget conferees for higher education, Virginia’s community colleges have other issues still to be reconciled in the budgets.  The House “caboose” bill proposed that $23.3 million in carryforward funding be removed.  Both biennial budgets also have differences in funding source (use of general funds versus bonded indebtedness) and scope for capital projects for our community colleges which tie back to the two capital bills that are also still under negotiation and in conference, HB 1547 and SB 795. 

Posted by:  Ellen Davenport

Daniel Matison is one busy, resourceful, responsible, and energetic young man. After graduating high school, the New Kent County resident took a year off to work in the restaurant industry. Now, as a student at Thomas Nelson Community College he is bartending to finance his education. “It’s a tough schedule,” Daniel admits, “but I’m determined to do well.”

Daniel says TNCC was the right choice for him. The oldest of six siblings, he wanted to stay close to home and help his mother with his younger siblings, especially after she had to return to work. Before that she home schooled the oldest kids for their three years of middle school. “She really put me through the paces in math,” says Daniel.  I guess that’s what you get when your mom is an electrical engineer, but I’m really good at math–it prepared me well.” 

Daniel doesn’t hesitate to tell his personal story with legislators. He explains how important community college has been for him. “With a large family money is tight, so if it wasn’t for TNCC I probably wouldn’t be in college.” He also says his TNCC experience has helped him to grow by leaps and bounds, giving him time to become more directed.

Working toward a degree in business administration at TNCC, Daniel’s goal is to pursue a degree in international relations at William and Mary. In preparation, he is taking a course this semester in political science. “The class and the professor are so interesting and completely engaging,” he exclaims. 

One goal Daniel has is to join the Peace Corps and travel around the world sharing his skills and knowledge. He loves to meet people from different countries. A serving job at a resort in the Williamsburg area gave him a glimpse of that with exposure to international tourists and foreign student who are employed through work-study programs. “I love talking to people–asking them about their life and culture.” he says. “That’s where and how I met my wife. She was a work-study student from Thailand.” Daniel further explains how they carried on a long distance relationship for awhile, It was a great experience to be able to visit her and travel to Thailand. “I had $350 for the month, but through the generosity of her family and friends, it was enough. They are wonderful people.”

Another international experience Daniel had was during a missionary trip to the Ukraine when he was 15, serving at an orphanage. He says it was a memorable and moving experience for his group. “It was something to know we were giving the kids only the second shirt they had ever had in their lives. You walk away realizing and telling yourself, “I have a really nice life.”

Posted by Carol Kyber

At the General Assembly, the House of Delegates and State Senate have each introduced their own versions of the state budget.  Considering that there are billions of dollars at stake, there are a lot of details to consider. 

Funding for Virginia’s colleges and universities remains a point of disagreement between the governor and the two houses.  Today’s Washington Post story on the budgets highlights the difference:

Last week, Kaine proposed to close the shortfall by reducing money for school construction by more than $100 million, cutting aid to local governments by 5.4 percent and reducing grants to public colleges and universities by 2 percent.

The Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee largely agreed with Kaine, approving a budget that calls for cuts to higher education and a significant transfer from the reserve fund.

The House Appropriations Committee decided instead to balance the budget through other spending cuts and a series of accounting maneuvers. With those savings, the House proposal restores most of the money for higher education and local governments that Kaine had proposed cutting.

It’s not too late to be heard on this issue.  If you feel strongly about the issue of cutting college budgets, you should contact your delegate and state senator and tell them.

Posted by Jeff Kraus